No matter how long the road is, it will eventually come to an end. Those women walked slowly, but they finally arrived at that dwelling on the mountain waist.

  Xu Haifeng was filled with doubts in his heart, but he remained calm and composed in front of Erhu and the others. Along the way, he chatted amicably with these soldiers who were far apart from him in terms of status and position.

  His down-to-earth and amiable demeanor has won the hearts of many, and Xu Haifeng can even see gratitude and respect in their eyes.

  That feeling, it seemed he had also experienced before witnessing Qin Yong's thousand-jin divine strength on the ancient road. Before that, he had also held a similar respectful sentiment towards this great Han Dynasty's number one general.

  However, from that day on, Qin Yong drew his bow and held up the bronze lion in the Western camp's training ground, bluntly refusing Gu Dao's recruitment. The relationship between the two men plummeted, until today, they became sworn enemies.

  If it weren't for that opportunity, would fate have changed?

  Treat them as if they were infants, and you can entrust them with your deepest secrets; treat them as if they were beloved children, and you can die together with them.

  The old general's life was marked by a hundred battles, and he often managed to win with fewer troops. He was undefeated in battle. Apart from his own abilities, the biggest factor was that he treated his soldiers like babies, taking good care of them, so they were willing to go through fire and water for him, sharing his joys and sorrows.

  Xu Haifeng, as the Grand Commander of the Black Flag Army, commanded this ten thousand strong invincible iron cavalry. However, all the theories he had learned were always useless in actual combat.

  The reason is that the Black Flag Army was just too special.

  It can be said that as long as they are provided with a few black buns every day, so that they will not starve or die of thirst, they will be able to maintain their vigorous fighting spirit forever.

  The so-called "love soldiers as sons" has no effect on these killing machines who have lost their human emotions.

  Even if they were treated like Bancroft's treatment of the Fourth Legion, distributing all the spoils without leaving a single thread, they would not have any gratitude in their hearts towards the commander.

  To treat them with gentle means is like playing a lute to an ox, it has no effect.

  However, today's trip with Erhu and others made Xu Haifeng feel quite sentimental.

  The respect in their eyes was absolutely genuine, and Xu Haifeng could be certain that if there were enemies ahead at this moment, with just one order from him, these over a hundred people would definitely sacrifice themselves to the death, without anyone retreating or showing cowardice.

  What Jiang Gongming wrote in those military books indeed makes sense.

  It's no wonder that although Jiang Gongming commanded only a few battles, all the generals who had read those military books consistently recognized that Jiang Da Junshi was the number one genius of the time, and his evaluation was even higher than Gu Dao Xing.

  He is the only one in history who has gained such a reputation without any actual achievements, relying solely on theory.

  Far away, Zhebie came to greet him. Seeing that Xu Haifeng was also in the group, the face of this divine archer did not have any expression of surprise. Instead, he gave him a salute and then went to arrange the accommodation for those women.

  Xu Haifeng beckoned to Erhu with a wave of his hand and quickly departed under their admiring gaze.

  Atop the mountain, Jiang Gongming had long been prepared with a banquet, waiting only for his arrival.

  Xu Haifeng walked over and sat down in front of him, saying: "Military Advisor, you're in high spirits today."

  Jiang Gongming smiled and said: "Master gone for a whole day, I am worried in my heart."

  Xu Haifeng glanced at Jiang Kongming and saw that he was in a leisurely state, but in his heart, he didn't believe this sentence of his at all.

  Noticing Xu Haifeng's expression, Jiang Kongming pointed to Li Mingtang beside him with an innocent face: "If it weren't for Li Mingtang not having any unusual behavior, the student would really have to go to Wulong City to ask Taiyi Zhenren to come out and find someone."

  Xu Haifeng suddenly realized that Li Mingtang, as the only master of the Blood Wine Warrior, had a close spiritual connection with him. If something happened to him, even if he was thousands of miles away, Li would sense it. No wonder Jiang Kongming seemed so calm and composed - he must have been confident all along.

  "Hmm..." Xu Haifeng coughed and asked, "Military Advisor, I've been traveling for a while now and happened to run into the Second Tiger. There's something that's been puzzling me."

  "Please proceed, sir."

  "Listening to the Second Tiger's words, he had studied for three years before coming here. During those three years, he had learned seven courses, but in the final assessment, he was able to graduate smoothly. Doesn't the Military Master think there's anything wrong with that?" Xǔ Hǎifēng asked seriously.

  Jiang Kongming smiled slightly and said, "So the master has already met the two tigers. That's right..." He nodded in acknowledgement, without any reservations: "The matter of letting the two tigers graduate smoothly was indeed ordered by the student."

  Xu Haifeng furrowed his brow slightly, not saying a word, because he knew that since Jiang Kongming had done so, there must be a reason. As for whether he had any thoughts of favoritism, Xu Haifeng was the first to disbelieve it.

  Now all we can do is wait for his explanation.

  As expected, Jiang Gongming only paused for a moment before continuing: "In the past few days, Master has been fully devoted to experimenting with the application of spiritual energy. This matter is extremely important, so I didn't dare disturb you with other things. Now that Master has achieved great success, even if you don't ask, I must still report in detail."

  Xu Haifeng nodded slightly, indicating that he had long been at ease with the matter. The various privileges held by Jiang Kongming were all granted by Xu Haifeng himself. Since he chose to trust him, naturally, he would not doubt his use of people. However, Jiang Kongming also needed a reason for his decision that could be explained.

  "After all, the City Guard was just a new recruit who had just stepped onto the battlefield. No matter how good their daily training was or how well they performed in their first battle, they couldn't be compared to the hundred-battle heroes of the Five Great Legions."

  Xu Haifeng nodded silently, although that night, the city guards under Liu Junshu's leadership completed their assigned tasks perfectly. But after all, it was just a sneak attack, and couldn't compare to the brutal fighting between the two armies face-to-face.

  The Fourth Legion's garrison of Caesarians was already in a state of panic, with a significant disparity in numbers and special forces secretly attacking from behind, their defeat was inevitable.

  If it were a fair and square fight, against the Fourth Legion in its heyday, the City Guard might not have been defeated, but wanting to win would be beyond their power.

  "For such new recruits, the best way to motivate them is to stir up their desire for battle. As long as they can be made to yearn for war and have high hopes for the future, then when the time comes to go into battle, the idea of fearing the enemy will be suppressed to the lowest possible level."

  "Indeed, Military Advisor sir has seen through it clearly. Has he thought of another good plan?" Xǔ Hǎifēng asked with a smile, but in his heart, he knew that Jiǎng Kǒnmíng's plan was definitely related to the two tigers.

  With a faint smile, Jiang Gongming's smile was filled with confidence: "Heroes, we need heroes."

  "Huh?"

  For this unexpected answer, Xu Haifeng was perplexed.

  "Any boastful and empty promise is far inferior to a living example. That night, the Second Tiger was able to personally behead the enemy commander amidst the chaos of tens of thousands of people clashing. This... was the first great achievement in the City Guard Army."

  "That's his luck......" Xu Haifeng sighed sincerely.

  On that night, the leader of the Caesarians would have been killed either by the swords of the two men or by those of the other soldiers; and he owed his escape from this danger to a combination of luck.

  "Not bad, luck... this is Erhu's greatest strength." Jiang Gongming sighed: "It's precisely because he has such good fortune that he can stand out among tens of thousands of people and rise through the ranks overnight, from a lowly soldier to a hundred-man commander."

  "Hey......" Xu Haifeng chuckled and said: "Such good luck is also worthy of such a generous reward."

  "It's far from enough." Jiang Kongming shook his head and said loudly.

  He looked at him with a somewhat unexpected gaze, and Xu Haifeng said in a low voice: "Such a generous reward is already a step to heaven, isn't it enough?"

  From an ordinary soldier, he was promoted to the position of hundred-man commander after accumulating military achievements. Even though battles were continuous and he had gone through many battles, each battle had its own merits, at least it would take a year or so.

  Two tigers can complete in one night what others take a year or even several years to accomplish. This reward is indeed generous.

  Even if it were oneself, one would have to defend the isolated city for a month, go through nine deaths and one life, in order to be promoted to the position of deputy general. This is still because Gu Dao saw that he had military skills, so he broke the rules and promoted him, otherwise he would just be a hundred-man commander at most.

  Such a generous reward, yet Chiang Kongming still evaluated it with the four words "far from enough", which was somewhat excessive.

  Jiang Kongming burst out laughing and said, "If it's just about military achievements, that would be more than enough. However, what I want to establish is a banner, a great banner that makes everyone yearn for it and strive for it as their goal. In that case, being just a hundred-man commander is far from sufficient."

  Xu Haifeng looked at him and suddenly asked, "The military strategist's book has said that the basic rules for treating soldiers are: military orders are like mountains, rewards and punishments are clear, appointments are made based on merit, and loving soldiers like sons. Then, such excessive generosity, will it not lead to others' envy?"

  Jiang Kongming waved his hand, and Lin Changkong, who was standing by his side, understood the hint. He walked to the manual fan, grasped the handle, and shook it vigorously, instantly blowing out a refreshing cool breeze.

  He stretched out his slightly sore and numb hands and feet, saying: "Students doing this is precisely to arouse their jealousy. The stronger the jealousy, the greater the effect that can be achieved on the battlefield."

  He let out a soft sigh, and Jiang Gongming continued: "Naturally, the rewards for students can't be achieved in one step. For Er Hu, the student will have some arrangements to make him continuously establish meritorious service, gradually granting rewards. Each achievement must be able to attract attention, but also cannot be overly exaggerated, making people feel that if they were in his shoes, they too would have hope to achieve it. In this way, by the time he becomes a general, this hero will have been successfully created."

  "The students are confident that as long as the heroic image of Erhu is successfully shaped, hundreds, thousands, and countless real-life heroes will emerge from the City Garrison. The students have confidence that their combat effectiveness will catch up with and surpass that of the Five Major Legions in a short period of time."

  Xu Haifeng was left speechless, having never heard such a theory before. Jiang Kongming's ideas were indeed unconventional and elusive, but what he said also made sense in its own way, leaving no room for rebuttal.

  He let out a deep sigh and asked, "So what about the military academy?"

  Jiang Kongming smiled indifferently and said, "Master, have you forgotten that every year a batch of teachers from the military academy are rotated to serve in the city guard? This time, seven of Erhu's teachers and three examiners are among them. The war with the Caesarians is about to begin, they are eager to make achievements, anything can happen."

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